This is tonight!

There will be a Bake Sale at recess on Thursday, December 6. We will be selling items for $1 or $2.

We are asking for baked goods to be donated for the sale. They can be dropped off Thursday morning in the office. All profits will go to the Holiday Hampers for our sister school.

Are toys and books taking over your home? Maybe it’s time to de-clutter! We are asking for donations of gently used books, games, puzzles and toys for our Rummage Sale that will be held on December 10th. Please no stuffed animals or broken toys. Look for the box outside the office next week. We will also accept adult books and SMALL household items that are in good condition and easy to sell. No clothing please. All profits will go to the Holiday Hampers for our sister school.

The rummage sale will be held in the library on Monday, December 10th from 10:30am-3:30pm. All items will be under $5! Donations will be collected from Monday-Friday next week.

Did you receive your Concert Ticket Order Form?

Japanese High Tea for the Staff

Special thanks to Cliff and Ms. Smith for organizing a wonderful High Tea- Japanese style. This was yet another team-building

Twin Day

To promote school spirit and fun, Maple Grove staff dressed up as twins.

Counselor Corner

November/ December

Let Your Children Carry Their Own Backpacks

Last year while walking on my home commute from my workday, I watched two of my elementary aged students toss their back packs to what appeared to be their grandfather who then picked up the packs. The two students then started running and playing while the grandfather accompanied them home with two backpacks in his hand. The students waved at me and said hello. I said hello back, and then I said, “Hey, you should carry your own back packs! Why are you letting your grandfather carry them?” They just laughed and kept on playing, “He always carry’s our backpacks!”

To be fair to my students, they are right. I consistently see parents, grandparents and caregivers grab student’s backpacks, coats, lunch bags or work. And what is wrong with this? Why shouldn’t adults help children carry their stuff? Afterall, we are stronger, more responsible and maybe it even feels good to help children lighten their load.

The problem is that children miss out on a significant opportunity to practice skills that will support their ability to regulate and manage their feelings. We have evolved as a species with the daily practice of contributing to a tribe. Physical labour was an essential part of our survival. Our feeling brain evolved along with the practice of moving, pushing, pulling, carrying and lifting. Our brain and body still carry the connection between helping our tribe survive and using our big muscles.

Physical tasks and managing feelings are connected. We want children to get into the practice of taking care of their own things. We want to give children the message that they have the strength to manage their uncomfortable feelings on their own.

Let your children carry their own backpacks. This gives them the experience of carrying and lifting. It teaches them to be responsible for their things. It helps them practice the notion that it is their job to take care of their things. Over time, this gives them confidence and assurance in knowing that they can take care of themselves. Our modern day lifestyle is becoming farther removed from the daily tasks that helped teach our brains to manage our feelings.

Well this has been a busy week #TGIF. There is lots of information on social media these days regarding seismic upgrades and swing sites, but I would encourage everyone to breathe and take the time to become as knowledgeable and well-informed as you can. The school district, admin teams at Magee and Maple Grove, as well as the PAC Co-Chairs (and or designates) of both schools, are trying to set meetings for next week to develop a process for sharing school and neighbourhood comments/ concerns regarding the proposed study of a possible Magee/ Maple Grove swing site with the district. No decision has been made at this point as Deputy Superintendent Nelson said in his letter emailed to the Magee and Maple Grove school communities yesterday. More information to come on this topic and I encourage folks to watch for emails from the school and to read the Maple Grove PAC blog.

Traffic Concerns

I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the VSB grounds department and the City of Vancouver for all their work cleaning the beautiful fallen leaves from the school grounds, sidewalks and streets.

However, the school is concerned with some of the fascinating and creative driving habits we witness on a daily basis on Cypress St and on Cypress St and 47th. I would like to remind parents that the school encourages parents to park a block or two away from the school and to walk the rest of the way with their children to enjoy some family time. The VPD and traffic Authority will be watching for reckless drivers over the next few weeks. You’ve been warned!

I’d also like to ask the parents who park/stop along Cypress or 47th to only stay for a short period of time and to vacate the area as soon as they can to make room for other parent drivers who may be looking to drop off their child. Your cooperation with this is much appreciated.

We encourage all parents to park your cars away from the school and walk the one or two blocks with your child – enjoy the time in the morning for good conversation and shaping the rest of the day with your child.

Maple Grove will be hosting our first Pyjama Movie Night of the school year on Friday November 30th at 6:30 pm in the gym! The movie will be The Incredibles 2. Be sure to dress in your PJs, bring a pillow, blanket and stuffie!

A friendly reminder this is NOT a drop off event. Please ensure your child(ren) attend with an adult. We hope to see many of you there.

Holiday Hamper Drive

Watch for this notice which will be sent home next week.

Please be generous.

Collection Period: December 3rd to December 14th.

We will be sponsoring families from our sister school, Nightingale Elementary, during our Holiday Hamper Drive. Each family will be given a hamper of non-perishable food, household items, small gifts and a gift card to purchase groceries. We need your help to make this annual tradition a huge success. This year there will be a sign up sheet with suggested donations in each classroom. Please ask your child what they have offered to donate. We are also asking for a $4.00 donation from each student to be put towards the grocery store gift cards. Class parents will be helping and will be available to help if you have any questions. Thank you to everyone – you will give some very deserving people a wonderful, happy holiday season that would otherwise be very challenging.

Food Bank Thank you

The Global Citizenship Club would like to thank all of you for the wonderful response to our We Scare Hunger campaign. Our goal was to collect 10 boxes of food. This year’s Halloween food drive collected 30 boxes and a grand total of 669 pounds of food! That’s a record for Maple Grove. Thank you for supporting families in need in Vancouver.

Dear Debbie and students,
Thank you for raising 669 pounds of food through your food drive to support the work of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank! We sincerely appreciate the commitment, time and energy you’ve taken to create a great opportunity for people to give so generously.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank’s mission is to create empowering environments that provide and promote access to healthy food, education and training. We are proud of the many ways we demonstrate our commitment to achieve this, including working with local farmers to buy fresh produce, providing education and cooking demonstrations in schools and community kitchens, and expanding our volunteer program.
We love to see many of our members begin to thrive and gain new confidence through the programs the Food Bank delivers. You are helping us to accomplish all of this and more!
Thank you, once again, for your tremendous support of our work!
With Gratitude,
Aart Schuurman Hess
Chief Executive Officer

2018 Grad Legacy Gift Presentation

Recently some of the folks from last year’s awesome Parent Grad Committee dropped by along with some our our 2018 grads to present the school with a legacy gift. The beautiful plaque will hang in the school (somewhere near the office) for the next couple of years and then make the transition over to the new Maple Grove school building when we move in 2020-2021. Thank you to the Committee for their wonderful support and efforts to make last year’s grad special.

Maple Grove Recycles

Ms Adams’ and Ms Lam’s classes are starting a marker recycling program at Maple Grove. If you have felt markers, dry erase markers or highlighters that have dried up, bring them to school. All markers can be placed in the blue box on the counter in the office. When we get at least 100 markers, we will send them off to a recycling facility. Let’s keep those markers out of the landfills!

Message from YMCA re YMCA Kids club at Maple Grove

Dear Maple Grove Families,

I would like to thank you for your continued patience as we work through all the required steps that are needed before we can open the Maple Grove YMCA Kids Club. The process has taken longer than we had anticipated but we want to assure you that our team is working diligently to keep things moving in the right direction, as we are eager to welcome your child(ren) into the program.

We do have some updates and want to take this opportunity to pass those along to you.

We have received confirmation from the VSB that the improvements needed have been done and approved by the City of Vancouver. We have scheduled our final licensing visit for Tuesday, November 27th. Once this step is completed, and should no further action be required on our wend, we will be able to officially open the Maple Grove YMCA Kids Club.

We are very hopeful that we will be able to host an Open House for families to see the space and meet the staff on Friday, November 30th and then be open on Monday, December 3rd and will confirm these details after our licensing inspection on November 27th.

Once we open the program we will do everything we can to accommodate a start date for your child(ren), as we know that notice may need to be given to another child care provider you are currently registered with.

Professional Development Day tomorrow – no school for students.

2018 Grad Legacy Gift Presentation

This week some of the folks from last year’s awesome Parent Grad Committee dropped by along with some our our 2018 grads to present the school with a legacy gift. The beautiful plaque will hang in the school (somewhere near the office) for the next couple of years and then make the transition over to the new Maple Grove school building when we move in 2020-2021. Thank you to the Committee for their wonderful support and efforts to make last year’s grad special.

Maple Grove Website – School Blog

The Maple Grove School website is transitioning to the peoplesoft software that the VSB uses for remotely managing school information.
In an effort to help our school community adjust, we are running the two sites simultaneously for the remainder of this school year. You may link to our old site from the VSB main page. You may also know our old site as maplegroveschool.net We will continue to use the WordPress school blog feature on the old site as our community is used to this presentation style. The new website is www.vsb.bc.ca/schools/maple-grove

We will manage the two for the remainder of the year and eventually migrate to one once we’ve given our community time to adjust.

Hallowe’en Dance Party Tonight!

6:00 to 8:00 pm

Toonie Admission at the door.

Please try not to be late for school!

Dear Parent(s),

Being a responsible learner includes getting up in the morning with enough time to eat a healthy breakfast and get dressed for school. At Maple Grove, we want all learners to take an active role in engaging in this process and being responsible for their learning.

Please help your children to be successful by ensuring that they arrive to school on time.

Getting to school at 9:00 am is too late.

Children should be arriving at Maple Grove BEFORE 8:55am

Supervision is provided from 8:40 am to 8:55 (first bell)

Classes start at 9:00 am.

Kindergarten Registration for 2019 2020!

Do you have a child born in 2014? Registration for Kindergarten for 2019 2020 starts on November 1!

New Registration Process

With the opening of school registration for the 2019-20 school year on November 1st, the VSB will be implementing a new online registration service for parents. The registration process will have two steps:

Step 1: Complete the online registration process at vsbapplynow.vsb.bc.ca Print out the completed registration form. (Note, this link won’t be active until November 1)

Step 2: Bring the completed registration form along with the required documents to your catchment school.

Note: the registration process is not complete until you have competed both steps in the process.

We are wondering about Montessori numbers – do you have a child born in 2014 who has a sibling in Grades K to 6 Montessori at Maple Grove? Please call the school at 604 713 5356 to let Mrs. Peters know. Remember you have to register at your child’s catchment school even if there is a sibling at Maple Grove.

Student Vote

On Thursday, October 19 Maple Grove students exercised their right to vote. Students from division 17 stayed late to tally the votes.

Tomorrow, Friday October 19th is a Pro D Day – No School for Students.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Kindergarten Registration for 2019 2020!

Do you have a child born in 2014? Registration for Kindergarten for 2019 2020 starts on November 1!

New Registration Process

With the opening of school registration for the 2019-20 school year on November 1st, the VSB will be implementing a new online registration service for parents. The registration process will have two steps:

Step 1: Complete the online registration process at vsbapplynow.vsb.bc.ca Print out the completed registration form. (Note, this link won’t be active until November 1)

Step 2: Bring the completed registration form along with the required documents to your catchment school.

Note: the registration process is not complete until you have competed both steps in the process.

We are wondering about Montessori numbers – do you have a child born in 2014 who has a sibling in Grades K to 6 Montessori at Maple Grove? Please call the school at 604 713 5356 to let Mrs. Peters know. Remember you have to register at your child’s catchment school even if there is a sibling at Maple Grove.

Become a One-to-One Volunteer

Become a ONE TO ONE volunteer tutor and open the world of reading to a child!
For nearly 30 years, ONE TO ONE Literacy Society has been helping struggling young readers in Vancouver-area public schools with the opportunity to practice reading with a caring, patient adult. We know that this time spent with students directly impacts the student’s confidence and their chance of succeeding academically and in life.

Do you have 2 – 3 hours a week during school hours to work one-on-one with students? Our volunteer tutors read once a week, either in the mornings or afternoons, at a specific school, from October to June. You will be developing a relationship with the students that will help them bloom into successful readers.

You must be 18 years old, be proficient in English and/or French and complete a criminal background check. We will provide you with training and ongoing support. Training sessions for new volunteers will be held in September 2018. We are looking for volunteer tutors in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, New Westminster and Coquitlam. Register now in three easy steps by visiting www.one-to-one.ca/volunteer.

PAC FOOD DAYS

A friendly reminder that PAC Food Day lunches are EVERY WEDNESDAY.

The feature lunches on FRIDAYS only occur ONCE A MONTH on the following dates:

October 26

November 16

December 14

Did you know that munchalunch can send you reminders of your orders for lunch and treat days? Make sure you are setup to receive email notifications the day before a PAC Food day! Just follow these simple steps:

1) Log into munchalunch.com/schools/maplegrove

2) Go to My Family > My Profile

3) Enter your email address where it says “Contact Email”.

4) Check off “Allow Lunch Reminders to be emailed”

5) Click Save

Fresh To You Fundraiser

Just a reminder that the last day to place an order for the Fresh To You fundraiser is Monday Oct 22nd.

Veggie Bundles are $25 and Apple Bundles are $18.

Sell some to your friends and family. The produce is great quality and our school gets 40% of the total order!

Following a pipeline rupture near Prince George on Tuesday October 9, Fortis BC requested that all consumers conserve natural gas. As a result, Vancouver School Board building engineers have reduced gas consumption by starting gas fueled heating systems later, turning them off earlier and adjusting system settings in all schools and buildings throughout the District. Staff have also been advised to close windows and doors, where appropriate, to maintain heat. This has been underway for a few days.

Please be assured, we do not expect these measures to have major impacts on our school day. However, during this time, please ensure your child has appropriate clothing to remain comfortable while at school.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Peter Evans, Principal

Dear Maple Grove Parents & Caregivers,

The Montessori Community Committee invites you all to experience ‘Montessori Language’ a Hands-On Workshop, Monday October 22, 6-8pm in the school library. Doors open at 5:30 for Snacks, Refreshments and viewing of the Montessori Materials that will be demonstrated.

Registration Deadline: Monday Oct. 22 – NOON

To Register:

Print the flyer below, fill out the Reg. portion and insert into the PAC Mailbox in the Admin Office.

Pick-up a Registration Form in the Office and insert in to our PAC Mailbox

Register On-line using the Flyer document you received via email from your Classroom Parent

Thank-you in advance for supporting your children’s education and our school community.

International Walk to School Week

Great job participating in International Walk to School week, Maple Grove! A number of classes reported an increase of students who walked at least two blocks, biked or rode the bus last week. It was a wonderful way to celebrate this important and healthy way to build community. A special thank you to the Walk to School Ambassadors and the Global Citizenship Club for encouraging teachers and families to walk to school. Just because Walk to School week is over, doesn’t mean you need to stop walking. Keep our air cleaner and the streets around our school clear by walking a few blocks whenever you can.

Kindergarten Registration for 2019 2020!

Do you have a child born in 2014? Registration for Kindergarten for 2019 2020 starts on November 1!

In order to secure a spot in Maple Grove for 2019 2020 you should register before January 31, 2019.

We are wondering about Montessori numbers – do you have a child born in 2014 who has a sibling in Grades K to 6 Montessori at Maple Grove? Please call the school at 604 713 5356 to let Mrs. Peters know. Remember you have to register at your child’s catchment school even if there is a sibling at Maple Grove.

BAND

Maple Grove parents are looking to start up a school band. Read on if you’re interested….. !
Band would practice on Tuesday and Thursdays at 7:45 to 8:45 am

Who?

Open to all students in gr 4-7. Previous music experience highly recommended as this will enhance your child’s experience. Otherwise, they may have a limited selection of instruments to play.